


the aliens

by pathologically (headaaches)



Category: The Aliens - Annie Baker, Мор. Утопия | Pathologic
Genre: (daniil's death is off screen and only mentioned), Based on a Play, Five Stages of Grief, Gen, Screenplay/Script Format, a rewrite of the ladder scene from the aliens but with pathologic characters, this is so niche i am sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23632603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/headaaches/pseuds/pathologically
Summary: again, this does mention the death of daniil, but it's offscreen and how he died is not mentioned - it's left ambiguous. also, "ladder" no longer looks like a word to me. this is essentially a scene rewrite with a few minor changes.
Relationships: Artemiy Burakh & Daniel Dankovskiy, Klara | Clara (Pathologic) & Artemiy Burakh
Kudos: 8





	the aliens

**Author's Note:**

> again, this does mention the death of daniil, but it's offscreen and how he died is not mentioned - it's left ambiguous. also, "ladder" no longer looks like a word to me. this is essentially a scene rewrite with a few minor changes.

_ LIGHTS UP. _

_ [CLARA enters stage left, a backpack over her shoulder and her beanie on her head. She sees ARTEMY in his usual chair, eyes closed and appearance messy. DANIIL’s chair is empty, as it has been for the previous two scenes.] _

**CLARA:** _(quiet)_ Are you alright?

_ [ARTEMY jumps.] _

**ARTEMY:** Yeah, I’m fine.

**CLARA:** ...are you sure?

_ [ARTEMY is silent. CLARA looks like she is about to say something, but…] _

**ARTEMY:** When I was a little kid, I… I was obsessed with this one word. Ladder.

**CLARA:** Like… a ladder? Like what you climb on?

**ARTEMY:** Yeah, like a ladder. And I would just say it over and over and over again. I think I scared about everyone in the town that way. Over and over. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

_ [CLARA is silent for a long while, listening to ARTEMY speak. They are both silent for a little while.] _

**ARTEMY:** I don’t know what it was about that word. It just… enthralled me. I said it over and over again, and some nights I couldn’t even sleep because I just kept repeating it over and over. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. My father would come in to find me in my room, staring up at the ceiling in the dark, saying it again and again and again. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

_ [He sighs.] _

It got to the point where I stopped eating or drinking or sleeping. My father was worried, and I think he didn’t really know what to do. Even doctors can’t fix that.

**CLARA:** So how did you stop?

**ARTEMY:** One night, my father came into my room with a glass of water, and he sat down on my bed next to me and he put his arms around me and he told me that I could say it as much as I wanted. I remember his words— _ (in a voice that is not quite an imitation)  _ ”you can say it as much as you want, as many times as you want, and I’ll be here the whole time.” 

_ [There is a pregnant pause. CLARA waits.] _

**ARTEMY:** And so I did. 

_ [He takes a deep breath.] _

Ladder. 

Ladder. 

Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

_ [He stands up. CLARA moves back, almost afraid.] _

Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

_ [As he moves around the stage, he starts to tear things up, kick things around the stage, smash bottles and knock things over.]  _

**ARTEMY:** _(voice gradually rising to a shout)_ Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. 

Ladder. 

Ladder.

_ [CLARA is terrified by this point. ARTEMY falls to his knees, covering his eyes and starting to cry.] _

**ARTEMY:** _ (starting to cry)  _ Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. 

Ladder. 

Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. Ladder.

_ [CLARA moves over to him in an attempt to comfort him, but as soon as she does, he stands up, seemingly begging the gods. He stares at the sky. _

**ARTEMY:** Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. 

Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. 

_ (He seems to fall into despair at this point.) _

Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

_ [CLARA is dumbstruck. She reaches for him, but ARTEMY seems to be alright now. He stands up and sits in DANIIL’s chair.] _

**ARTEMY:** Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder. Ladder. 

Ladder.

...and then I stopped.

**CLARA:** I— 

**ARTEMY:** Daniil’s dead.

**CLARA:** _What._

**ARTEMY:** He died.

**CLARA:** No he didn’t. What? No he didn’t.

**ARTEMY:** He died a week ago.

**CLARA:** No.

_ [ARTEMY nods.] _

**CLARA:** No. No. He’s just sick. 

You said he was just  _ sick! _

**ARTEMY:** Isn’t it weird that he died? 

I think it’s so weird that he just… died. Right?

_ [CLARA begins to cry. She runs up to the large recycling dumpster, kicks it as hard as she can, and tries to push it over. It’s huge and heavy, and she can’t manage it. After this, she walks inside. _

_ ARTEMY waits. _

_ CLARA returns with an oatmeal raisin cookie in her hand.] _

**CLARA:** What did he die of.

**ARTEMY:** He died.

**CLARA:** _What did he die of._

**ARTEMY:** You know what he died of.

**CLARA:** I… 

_ (She wipes her eyes. There are no tears there.) _

Oh my god. I have to go home.

**ARTEMY:** You know it’s okay if you can’t cry.

**CLARA:** I have to go home.

I’m sorry.

I… don’t even know why I have this stupid  _ cookie. _

_ [CLARA breaks the cookie in half, almost mechanically, and hands one half to ARTEMY. He takes it.] _

**CLARA:** I’m going home.

**ARTEMY:** Okay.

_ [CLARA exits stage right. After she has been gone for several seconds, he stands up, leaves the half of the cookie on the chair, and takes a few steps back. He looks at it for a moment, wipes his eyes, and exits stage left.] _

_ LIGHTS DOWN.  _

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: the "ladder" section includes the word "ladder" 123 times, the same number as in the original play! and no, i didn't count them. all of the stage and vocal directions are based on a staging that my acting troupe did a while back - it was very emotionally moving and impactful. my friend counted them all out and i am so proud of her for doing that. 
> 
> if you liked this, check out "the aliens" by annie baker. that's what this scene is from! also check out the rest of my pathologic fic, because it's a lot different. this one is weird and i do not know what possessed me to write this.
> 
> as always, comments and kudos are much appreciated!


End file.
